We've had Sunshine for a week now

We've had Sunshine for a week now so it is a good time for a progress report.

Sunshine is doing great with my other dogs and is most relaxed with them. He is becoming a bit more relaxed with me but that can really vary depending on the circumstances. Originally I was trying to figure out Sunshine's fear triggers. But that has been really hard because at times it appears to be just about everything. He is afraid to go out of the house. He is afraid to come in the house. He is afraid to go places on his own within the house. He is afraid to go places on a leash. He is afraid of the open sky. He is afraid when he has a roof over his head. You get the idea, were dealing with a dog who is almost constantly in a state of fear and anxiety.

When I think I've made some progress, I find out I haven't. For example we had 5 progressively more successful dog walks. Last night we decided to do one at night. We were back to square one with Sunshine ricocheting off my other dogs in fear. So this morning, I figure were doing one during the day again and he will be back to where he was, having gained some confidence. Nope, we were back to square one there again.

Another example is getting Sunshine out of the house without his peeing in fear. I had been bringing him out about every two hours so he doesn't have too much in his bladder. And he had stopped peeing in fear for me. He still would pee if my husband took him out. However yesterday there was a vacuum cleaner sitting in the hall. It wasn't turned on or anything, just sitting there. Sunshine panicked and we were back to square one.

To move Sunshine from room to room, mostly he has to be leashed as he will otherwise stay in one spot. He does have free run however and we are very pleased whenever he moves from room to room on his own initiative.

I'm thinking socializing Sunshine is going to take alot longer than I thought...